Cooking Light healthy five-star Greek Recipes

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Mini-Spanakopitas (Greek Spinach Pies)

Wonderful as appetizers or a side, these miniature spinach pies enclose fresh spinach, feta cheese, and dried dill in folds of delightfully crispy phyllo dough. Reviewers reported that this recipe won over everyone from picky kids to spinach-phobic husbands and doubters of light fare.

View Recipe: Mini-Spanakopitas

Baklava with Wildflower Honey

Wildflower honey adds delicate fragrance and subtle sweetness to this nutty dessert, but almond or regular honey can be used as a substitute.

"I've always imagined that baklava would be so difficult that I never dared to try it," says jrspinz44fl. "This recipe changed my mind and has become a keeper. It's just a little tricky to work with phyllo dough...but keeping it covered while working on the layers helps so much. It got rave reviews and I've been asked to make it many times. Give it a try!"

View Recipe: Baklava with Wildflower Honey

Randy Mayor

Greek Lamb Pizza

Grill once, eat twice! Pick up three lamb leg steaks for an elegant dinner of Lamb Steaks with Herbes de Provence and Grilled Sweet Onions. The leftovers are put to wonderful use on this Aegean-style pizza.

"I already had leftover barbecued lamb and just sautéed onions in a little olive oil," says Mary from Oregon. "The combination of flavors was outstanding. Will definitely make again and feel it would be great for company as well!"

View Recipe: Greek Lamb Pizza

Jan Smith

Classic Tzatziki

Cool and tangy, this traditional Greek condiment offers so many uses, as reader Joanna discovered:

"So, so delicious. Super with pita chips, or serve with kabobs. Great with grilled veggies or classic crudites. Not your usual dip, and a welcome change."

View Recipe: Classic Tzatziki

Randy Mayor

Chicken Souvlaki Salad

"Every time I use this recipe to provide a meal to neighbors in need, it receives rave reviews," says krisqd . For variation, try fixing only the chicken portion of the recipe and serve over rice, pasta, in a green salad or all by itself. It's excellent!

View Recipe: Chicken Souvlaki Salad

Becky Luigart-Stayner

Greek Dinner Salad

This simple salad makes a great foundation for many variations. Add chicken or fish for a heartier entrée salad. And feel free to experiment with different herbs, beans, cheese, or olives, as this reader did:

"Very good salad," says cheeslover9. "I left out the onions, but added chopped kalamata olives. I didn't have any parsley, but it was still delicious. Served it with pita bread."

View Recipe: Greek Dinner Salad

Karry Hosford

Fashoulakia

Perfect for picnics and outdoor potlucks, this classic side dish is typically served at room temperature. Pair it with kebabs, sandwiches, and more.

"Wonderful and easy recipe," writes looovetocook. "Neither my husband nor I are huge fans of green beans by themselves, so this is a great recipe to sneak them in 'under the radar.'"

View Recipe: Fashoulakia

Karry Hosford

Fennel-Marinated Halibut with Fennel Tzatziki

This Tzatziki sauce replaces cucumber with fennel, which adds a spicy-sweet licorice flavor to the tangy sauce. This recipe also works well with snapper.

"This recipe is simple enough for a quick dinner with the boyfriend, and nice and fancy enough to use for a dinner party," says robyn. "I will surely make it again."

View Recipe: Fennel-Marinated Halibut with Fennel Tzatziki

Becky Luigart-Stayner

Swiss Chard Spanakopita Casserole

If you like the crispy individual phyllo-dough pastries of classic spanakopita, you'll love this quick-and-easy casserole version. Another interesting twist: Swiss chard in place of spinach.

"Incredibly good! Use the chard―it gives a more complex flavor than spinach. I needed a recipe to use up the enormous quantities of chard I grew and now I would not go back to spinach spanakopita," says harpchick. "I served this at a dinner party along with Chicken Souvlaki and Greek Salad. Got rave reviews!"

View Recipe: Swiss Chard Spanakopita Casserole

Greek-Style Burgers with Feta Aioli

Stuffed with roasted bell peppers and spinach, and paired with a zesty aioli, this burger delivers loads of flavor in every bite.

"I cook often from Cooking Light, but this one inspired me to write," says chakkalicious. "AWESOME and easy! Needs no further enhancement than the aioli. Made it made couscous salad with cucumber, tomato, olive oil, scallions, lemon juice, and feta. Perfect."

View Recipe: Greek-Style Burgers with Feta Aioli

Top-Rated Greek Recipes

Mini-Spanakopitas (Greek Spinach Pies)

Baklava with Wildflower Honey

Greek Lamb Pizza

Classic Tzatziki

Chicken Souvlaki Salad

Greek Dinner Salad

Fashoulakia

Fennel-Marinated Halibut with Fennel Tzatziki

Swiss Chard Spanakopita Casserole

Greek-Style Burgers with Feta Aioli